More and more paintings, pictures, books, songs, other performances, texts, diagrams, recordings, video clips, and courses utilizing them for instructional purposes and/or entertainment are becoming available in machine readable forms. In particular, many computer-assisted lessons, training materials, and other instructional courses include works which can be protected under intellectual property laws, such as visual works, audio works, texts, examinations, simulations, and other works. Some sensory works experienced while using computers, such as the physical motions performed with a flight simulator, may also be protected. Still other computer-aided sensory experiences are foreseeable but not yet commercially implemented, such as smells that could enhance a fire fighting course or a course on the detection of illegal drugs. These will also benefit from protection.
“Computerized training”, “computer-assisted instruction”, “computer-aided learning”, “web-based training”, “intranet-based learning”, “web courses”, “virtual university”, “computerized curriculum delivery system”, “courseware delivery system”, “instructional management system”, “interactive educational method”, and similar phrases are used by various people in various ways, but each of these terms refers to efforts to use computers to help educate students. As used here, “students” are not necessarily traditional students enrolled in high schools, colleges, universities, and the like, but are rather people who receive instruction through courseware. Courseware may be used by traditional students, but it may also be used by employees of government agencies and corporations, for instance.
To better understand the present invention in the context of existing computer-assisted educational efforts, it will helpful to understand certain distinctions, including without limitation the following:                Course authoring vs. course content delivery;        Stand-alone computer-based training vs. networked instruction;        Synchronous sharing vs. asynchronous sharing;        Commercial systems vs. academic systems; and        Technical vs. legal means for securing intellectual property.        Courseware vs. other content        